How to message your wins

Whether you’re a political leader, organization, or lobbying group, it’s important that you make it a priority to highlight your victories. You want to show people the role you played in getting a piece of legislation passed, changing the narrative on an issue, or winning an election. 

Often, we forget how important it is to champion our successes. Consider Obamacare: the monumental legislation is responsible for helping millions of people get health care they couldn’t afford. But studies over the past few years show that most people don’t know that Obamacare was responsible for expansions in coverage. In some cases, they don’t know that Obamacare and the Affordable Care Act are the same thing. That’s a major loss for the former president and the Democratic party considering the critical role they both played in passing the ACA. 

Even after its historic passage, the Obama Administration and Democrats were criticized for not doing enough to highlight how transformative the legislation was. As a result, few stories or narratives took hold about Obamacare, which is why years later, we see so few people recognizing the landmark legislation. 

Learn from these mistakes and make sure that you take credit for your victories and plan effective ways to highlight what you accomplished. This article will outline how.

Show the numbers

Statistics are a great way to illustrate the size or scope of something. Obamacare had endless statistics to use. They could have focused on how many people declare bankruptcy because of skyrocketing medical bills. They could have cited the number of people who got lifesaving care they otherwise would have been unable to access. They could have shown the decrease in premiums or the number of sick kids who got better, or the amount of money they saved families. To be fair, the Obama Administration likely did cite some of these facts, but certainly not enough to make a mark. 

Numbers are important, but make sure you repeat those numbers over and over. They should be used in talking points, included in graphics, and they should be on the tip of your spokesperson’s tongue. Don’t throw too many numbers at people – pick the top two to three most impressive statistics and keep using them. 

For example, the Biden Administration’s recently passed American Rescue Plan included an expanded Child Tax Credit that helped lift three million children out of poverty. That is a powerful statistic that should be used more. 

Another recent Biden Administration success is the bipartisan infrastructure bill that will send millions of dollars to states to update their roads, bridges, broadband, and water infrastructure. That money will help create jobs and strengthen local economies. Hopefully, as the money gets allocated, we’ll see a big media push to highlight this helpful law and the people and places who benefit from it. More local governments should prioritize communicating on this law, focusing on the money they will be getting, and the projects and jobs created thanks to that money. Money and jobs numbers are convincing. Even if your victory is on a smaller scale, make sure to highlight the numbers. 

Media Events

In addition to citing the statistics, media events are a great way to ensure press coverage and create an opportunity to trumpet your message. Make sure you identify a way to make the event connect to something you did while also being newsworthy.

For Biden’s infrastructure bill, they should go to places where millions of dollars will be going to improve a deteriorating bridge or expand broadband access. They should tie the event to an announcement of a major new construction project that will create jobs and provide a cash injection into the local community.

If your success isn’t legislation so much as a change that will help people, maybe you identify several local residents who will see a direct benefit and pitch their story to the press. A reporter can sit down with them and tell their story and explain that thanks to your work this person’s life was improved. Try to identify several stories like that to reinforce the practical way your work made a change in people’s lives. These kinds of media opportunities are a great way to show how you delivered for the community.

In some cases, this kind of coverage doesn’t even need to be tied to your efforts but can serve as a way to change the narrative on an issue. Powerful personal stories can shift the way people see something and that is often the goal organizations are aiming for.

Collaborate

When planning a media event to champion your accomplishment, consider collaborating with another organization that also benefits. It’s a great way to expand your reach and show the size of your success. The more people involved, the more likely the media is to cover something. Plan a joint press conference or combine events to show the broad reach your work had in the community. This also creates more opportunities for testimonials from people to further reinforce your message.

Communications Strategy

Lastly, all the tips outlined here should be used to champion your victories, but make sure that you are simultaneously pushing this message on your social media and any other place you communicate. Make sure you are regularly posting about the benefits you secured. Use powerful infographics citing the statistics mentioned above and post regularly on your platforms.

If you are struggling to secure press around some of your victories, make your own videos interviewing people whose lives improved thanks to your work. Serve as your own media channel, rolling out videos from people that tell a story about how the legislation, candidate, or work you delivered improved their lives. This gives you even more control about what the public hears and sees.

Conclusion 

There are many options to highlight the success of a campaign, issue, or piece of legislation. Don’t let the opportunity go by without creating a plan to communicate your victory to a wide audience. Think about the long-term benefit of being associated with something that improves people’s lives and make sure you’ve identified several ways to effectively communicate the benefits you helped secure.

Not every victory needs to be championed – there are some cases where you want to be a silent contributor. But in cases like improving access to health care or helping create jobs and economic growth, you want to make sure you make the most of your win.